All TV/Viewing Questions

DirecTV is the way to go. Pretty much what everyone says. I had been a life long cable guy. Switched to D* when I had my house and it is superior to cable. Purchase the HD Pak which is only like $6.99 or $9.99 a month. That gives you all the RSN's (regional sports networks) like MSG/SNY/YES/NESN etc etc. What a lot of people don't realize about this though is a lot of these channels (YES) shows nothing worth watching except the actual games that are blacked out unless you buy the league package. BUT, if you buy the NHL package you can watch the Rangers game on MSG HD which I believe was 634. You get the pre/post like everyone says and all that jazz. Its worth it.
Unfortunately for me my apartment I live in now faces east and I had to switch back to cable (Brighthouse). Its ok for regular stuff, but for sports its not. I have NHLN, MLBN, etc. Nowhere near the options of D*.

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Originally Posted by duffman1183

also, if anyone has any suggestions for yankee games as well i'd love to hear them.

If you get D* you can just order the MLB Package and watch whatever games you want on YES or any other RSN.
Orrrrrr.. if you're like me and have crappy cable, get mlb.tv, but instead of using a computer I stream it through my PS3.
This has turned out to be awesome. You can fire up in seconds any game you want and pick which feed etc. Watch live or every game is archived like 90 minutes after its over. HD is crystal clear. You can skip to whatever inning you want, etc. You can view all the stats, standings, and all that noise over your screen too. Also its actually cheaper than ordering the package over cable or D*.

Another thing that I wanted to say that blows on cable compared to D* for sports fans is if there's multiple games on the same time.
For example I live in FL. We have 2 sports networks. FSN-FL and SunSports which are basically the same thing same owners etc. These networks carry the games for the Magic, Lightning, Panthers, Marlins, and Rays. Now, if all 5 teams are playing at the same time, if you have cable you will get only 2 (sometimes 1! WTF?) of these games.

If you have D* you get all the games with the sub channels. For instance it would be something like 654-1 shows the Magic game. 654-2 shows the Lightning game, and 656 or whatever shows the Panthers etc. Very cool.

I saw last season someone was talking about streaming NHL games through their PS3 from the league.

I wanted to know if this service was the same or similar to the mlb.tv streaming over the PS3. Does it have the same features like every game archived shortly after its over? All games HD and you can pick the feed? Options not to show you the scores for when you miss the game live and don't want to know what happened before you watch? This is very important for me.

awesome, thanks alot for all the info guys. so it sounds like direct TV is gonna be the way to go, which i was kind of planning on cause there is no way in hell i'm gonna watch redskins games every sunday.

so if i understand correctly, i would have to get direct tv with the regional sports package and center ice? regional sports package gives me msg network so i can get pre/post games but the games are blacked out, so i have to get the center ice package to actually watch the games? and its basically the same for baseball?

Legally they cannot prevent you from having a dish if you have an area that is under your exclusive control. Years ago a board tried to tell me to remove mine and I forwarded them a letter with the specifics of the Federal law that was passed during the Clinton administration and that was the end of that. Just to be clear, a board can disallow installing the dish on the building facade or roof or any public area. But if you have a private balcony that has a Southern exposure, or you own your own home, they can't stop you.

In my opinion, DirecTV wins hands down. MSG HD. Center ice has an HD option for EVERY game. Apparently now they are going to start free NFL Sunday ticket for all subscribers. They have awesome free UEFA packs for all those soccer fans out there. I have friends with all the other providers, and nothing compares.

The weather blackouts are extremely rare and like people have said only occur during torrential downpours and blizzard conditions.

DirecTV hands down. Prices are reasonable as well.

Also...yes they had that dispute with Versus, but it wasn't for that long, and MANY people got free Center Ice for the year if you called to complain. They do what they can to keep subscribers happy.

Is that included with the basic Center Ice package, or is there an upcharge? The fact that the TWC version of Center Ice only includes 1 or perhaps 2 games in HD on any given day is the only reason I don't subscribe to it.

I record and watch every Ranger game on a delay, even if I was home to catch the start of the game... I've become accustomed to fast forwarding through the commercials and most of the intermissions.... I love watching a 2 1/2 hour broadcast in about 90 minutes.

Yup. Even if I'm home I still wait until at least 7:45pm to start watching the pregame. Starting the game at just after 8pm I'm generally done just after 9:30. Great to skip the hour plus worth of commercials and all but the interviews and highlights between periods. Long live the DVR!

so i've lived on long island all my life and my job recently relocated to northern virginia (caps country...ugh). by the end of the year i'll be down there as well. anyway, whats the best viewing options you guys have found for watching ranger games out of market? having never been out of the NY market i've never had to handle jumping through hoops to watch my teams. i'm open to internet streaming through gamecenter or whatever since my laptop has an hdmi out that i can run right to my tv. basically whatever will get me reliable rangers HD feeds (at least somewhat close to what i'm used to with cablevision) with sam and joe announcing, would definetly like to avoid watching away telecasts if at all possible. so what do you guys who are out of the NY area use?

also, if anyone has any suggestions for yankee games as well i'd love to hear them.

thanks

I live in NH and have DirecTV with Center Ice and I love it. On the few occassions when the MSG feed hasn't been in HD, you always have the opposing teams HD feed.

awesome, thanks alot for all the info guys. so it sounds like direct TV is gonna be the way to go, which i was kind of planning on cause there is no way in hell i'm gonna watch redskins games every sunday.

so if i understand correctly, i would have to get direct tv with the regional sports package and center ice? regional sports package gives me msg network so i can get pre/post games but the games are blacked out, so i have to get the center ice package to actually watch the games? and its basically the same for baseball?

thanks again

Yeah you got it, personally I don't get the sports package just Center Ice, the pre and post games aren't that important to me...there is a way around purchasing Center Ice, if you can either install the dish yourself or know someone who does....PM for details

Is that included with the basic Center Ice package, or is there an upcharge? The fact that the TWC version of Center Ice only includes 1 or perhaps 2 games in HD on any given day is the only reason I don't subscribe to it.

All part of the package, no x-tra fees...

Edit: Of course you need to subscribe to their HD service when you sign up and get your HD boxes and all that crap..

Hey FYI if you get dtv in NY & take your box to VA & find a way to get a dish installed your NY box will work & u would get msg as local with the games. Dtv has to think u r using the box in ny. The only thing that might not work is your local channels but you can get HD locals off antenna on most newer HDTVs